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These banana buckwheat muffins are a delicious way to use up ripe bananas you have on hand. They make an easy gluten-free breakfast, or snack on-the-go.
Why You’ll Love Them
They are easy to make. All you need is one bowl and a few simple ingredients to make these buckwheat banana muffins.
They’re nutritious. Buckwheat contains minerals like manganese, iron, and copper. When you pair it with mashed bananas and ground flax seed, you’ll get plenty of filling fiber and vitamins in each bite!
They are allergy friendly. Despite its name, buckwheat is actually a seed, and not a grain. So, it’s naturally gluten-free! You can make this recipe with, or without eggs, if you need a vegan option, and it’s dairy-free, too.
They are fun to customize. Feel free to stir in some chocolate chips for extra sweetness, or a big handful of walnuts for a banana nut muffin.
They are portable. These muffins pack well for a school lunch or snack. You can keep them stored in the fridge for up to a week, for an easy option that travels well.
Ingredients You’ll Need
What’s in buckwheat muffins?
- Ripe bananas
- Buckwheat flour
- Maple syrup
- Flax egg (or real eggs)
- Olive oil
- Bakingpowder
- Cinnamon & salt
Since buckwheat doesn’t become as gummy as oat flour does, it’s easy to use a flax egg in this recipe to keep it higher in fiber and vegan friendly. But, I’ve also tested this recipe with 2 eggs as a swap, if you prefer a muffin recipe with more protein.
How to Make Banana Buckwheat Muffins
1. Mash the bananas.
Peel the ripe bananas and mash them with a fork. If you’re in a hurry, you can also use an electric hand mixer to break them down quickly.
If you are using a flax egg for this recipe, add the ground flax seed to a large mixing bowl, along with 3 tablespoons of water. Mix well, so the flax can begin to gel.
2. Mix the wet ingredients.
Transfer the mashed banana to the large mixing bowl, and add in the maple syrup and olive oil. Mix the wet ingredients together, until they look relatively uniform.
3. Add the dry ingredients.
Next you’ll add in the buckwheat flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. Mix again, until the batter looks smooth and fluffy.
Fold in some chocolate chips, or any other add-ins you like, such as walnuts or pecans.
4. Bake.
Use a 1/4 cup to scoop the batter into a muffin tin lined with 12 silicone or paper liners. Once the muffin cups are filled, you can add a few extra chocolate chips on top, if you’d like to.
Bake in an oven preheated to 350ºF for 22 to 25 minutes, or until the muffins rise slightly and start to crack on top.
Let the muffins cool for at least 30 minutes in the pan for the best texture and flavor. Then they are ready to serve!
Leftover muffins can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. Or, you can freeze them for up to 3 months.
Substitutions & Common Questions
Can I use real eggs? Yes, you can replace the flax egg in this recipe with 2 chicken eggs, if you prefer. In my opinion, using real eggs gives the muffins a better texture, with more bounce and fluffiness. You can try it out to see what you think!
Are these muffins very sweet? With only a 1/4 cup of maple syrup, this muffin recipe is not as sweet as a bakery muffin. But, when you add in the chocolate chips, I think it balances out! My kids love these as an after-school snack. You can add a little more sweetener, to taste, if you’d like to, or replace it with water for a lower-sugar snack.
Do I have to use olive oil? I use this type of oil so the muffins will stay softer when they cool. If you use coconut oil or melted butter, the muffins will become more solid in texture when chilled. But feel free to experiment with it!
Looking for more buckwheat recipes? Try Buckwheat Pancakes or Buckwheat banana bread!
Ingredients
- 3 large ripe bananas (about 1 ½ cups mashed)
- 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds
- 3 tablespoons water
- 1/4 cup olive oil , melted
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1 cup buckwheat flour (light colored)
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Optional Add-Ins
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line a standard muffin tin with 12 paper or silicone liners. Peel the bananas and mash them on a plate with a fork until they look relatively smooth.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground flax seed and water and whisk well. (Alternatively, you can replace the flax seed + water with 2 eggs.) Then add in the mashed banana, olive oil, and maple syrup. Mix well.
- Add in the buckwheat flour, cinnamon, and baking powder, and stir again. Fold in any extra add-ins you like, such as chocolate chips or walnuts.
- Use a ¼ cup to scoop that batter into the lined muffin cups, distributing the batter evenly in the pan. Bake at 350ºF for 22 to 25 minutes, until the muffins rise and the tops have started to crack.
- Remove the muffin tin from the oven, and let the muffins cool for at least 30 minutes before serving. Leftover muffins can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Notes
Nutrition
Update Note: This recipe was updated in August 2022 to create more of a bakery-style muffin, but if you prefer the older version, you can find it below.
- 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds
- 3 tablespoons water
- 1 cup buckwheat flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 tablespoons melted coconut oil
- 3 very ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 1/4 cups)
- 1/4 cup water, or non-dairy milk
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 3/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Mix the ground flax seed and water together, and wait 5 minutes. Then add in the flour, cinnamon, salt, coconut oil, mashed banana, water, baking soda, and vinegar. Stir well, then fold in the walnuts. Divide the mixture into the lined muffin cups, then bake at 350ºF for 20 to 22 minutes.
If you try these buckwheat banana muffins, please leave a comment & star rating below letting me know how you like them!
I tried these and they are great! The first time I made them I added shredded coconut, chocolate chips, dried cranberries, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds because I didn’t have walnuts, so they were more like Trail Mix muffins. I made them again today, but I substituted the bananas for pumpkin puree and I added 1/4 cup of molasses and some ground cloves, and I sprinkled more pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds on top, and they turned out really well again! Thanks for posting this recipe. It’s reliable and there’s lots of room to make substitutions.
I made these muffins for a class I was teaching on Specialty Flours and needed something dairy-free, egg-free, sugar-free, gluten-free and (almost) oil-free…whew. These were very nice & everyone liked them! Thanks for the recipe. I want to add a little cacao powder and see what happens 😉
mine came out wonderful thank you for sharing…just wondering why yours came out so dark? mine came out a nice tan. i used raw buckwheat to make fresh flour.
I used Bob’s Red Mill brand flour, which includes the buckwheat hull when ground– giving it a dark color.
I think the difference is that their buckwheat is roasted first. You can buy both raw or roasted buckwheat (kasha) groats and the raw grinds into a nice light flour with a mild flavor. Bob’s Red Mill is roasted and definitely has a stronger flavor. Both are good but my family prefers the raw buckwheat flour.
I love this recipe! I have made them about 10 times now. I do add about 1/3 cup of unsweetened applesauce to it. I find it is sweet enough from the bananas and applesauce that I don’t need any additional sugar added to the batter. My husband likes it a little sweeter and will slice the muffin and add a little honey after they are cooked. Thanks so much for all of the wonderful gluten free recipes.
Hey, this recipe is awesome, but I was wandering if I could substitute the buckwheat flour for sorghum flour?
Forgot to mention : I added a quarter cup of maple syrup and about a half cup of raisins instead of the nuts. Otherwise I followed the recipe.
I tried these and loved them so much I made another batch, doubled this time, to freeze. These pass the taste test at my house! My two kids along with their 3 friends devoured a dozen of them in under 20 minutes 🙂
Very delicious! I substituted the buckwheat flour for gluten free flour and added raisins. Very moist and very YUM! Simple, quick, and easy.
These muffins are moist, fluffy, and delicious! I have made them several times already. I added nuts and a few mini chocolate chips on the top to make them look “chocolate.” LOVE THEM!
I just made these for my son without the egg since he’s allergic to egg. I used Ener-G “egg” instead and they came out fantastic! Just delicious! Thank you!!!